I’m not surprised this film was pulled from the film festival over gay sex in Singapore, where the city-state is under a “benign Fascist” government. The sensitive, taboo subject–the sexual relationship between a male teacher and a male student to explore the fallout from an all-consuming love affair would be edgy anywhere else. What makes this film most radical to the audience, other than that it tells a story from a distance, is precisely what makes it cinematic to the core: There is no dialogue. The lack of scripts render the characters, who remain nameless, more iconic. That most of the film is shot in static long-shot does not compromise the coherence of the film, and in fact this minimalist, “Wong Kar-Wai-like” style renders the characters very palpable and the emotions very raw.
The film preponderates its weight on the boy’s mother, who is in this omnipresent nightgown going about her daily chores. When she chances to unveil the affair, she doubts, flares up, becomes frustrated, flusters, wails, and teeters on the edge of a breakdown–accuses the teacher of the loss of her son. What hits me the most is how, as scenes of the teacher and student having sex and arguing are juxtaposed with scenes of the mother wailing and going after her mundane chores, the transgression and the stigma of the affair are transmuted into the mother’s reaction. That she festers rage and depression fully represents how the society, which abides by the heterosexual norm, reacts to homosexuality. Solos is a very powerful film that expresses the mood of desire, pleasure, betrayal and disappointment to the full.
Country of Production: SINGAPORE
Year of Production: 2007
Duration: 68 min 54 sec
Language: No Dialogue
Subtitles: None
Shooting Format: High Definition
Screening Format: Digibeta
Website: http://www.solosmovie.com
Director: Loo Zihan & Kan Lume
Producer: Florence Ang
Official Frameline Website
*Book talk and reviews will return on Monday, as I’m very occupied with films featured in the San Francisco GLBT Film Festival.
**I finished Dennis McFarland’s Music Room and will begin a cold buy, Jane Hamilton’s The Short History of A Prince. Has anyone read this book?
Filed under: Gay Community, Gay Life, Movie | Tagged: Frameline, Frameline 32, GLBT Films, Loo Zihan, San Francisco, San Francisco GLBT Film Festival, Singapore, Solos
This sounds like a powerful film with many emotional elements converging within it, not to mention ethical questions. Its lack of dialogue seems intriguing. Theoretically, that’s cinema at its purest, though for me dialogue and the quality of dialogue is one of the factors attracting me to a movie. But dialogue in itself isn’t the sine qua non. In the end, the test for me would be my own ability to empathize with the characters, dialogue or not, and whether I might be responding at some level to the situation and take something with me, whether I approved of the character’s relationship or whether I found myself in sympathy; and film can be a powerful medium for developing sympathy, even in a situation I would hope to avoid. The sexual involvement between a student and teacher is an ethical hot button even between heterosexuals; of course same sex involvement adds another layer of hostility in the wider social milieu, to which we are all vulnerable. On a more personal level, the watchword is: do no harm. It sounds like mutual harm is the sad situation here, coupled with the outside world’s animosity their relationship. I suppose the film raises interesting questions and/or responses in that regard. From your description, it sounds very tragic overall, but very intriguing.
This film sounds interesting, although I’m not sure how I would react to the absence of dialogue. I added it to my Netflix queue for when it comes out on video.
The irony. You are watching a film from my country that we are not allowed to watch.
Thank you for supporting our local film production!
That sounds like a great film. I enjoy when a director tries something out of the ordinary, such as no dialogue. Gives the actors a chance to “act” to tell the story rather than to verbally tell that tale. I hope it makes it to DVD so we can see it down here!
This would be an unusual experience for me as if I’m listening to a song performed a capella, without all the electronic sounds. Any news about if there will be a dvd? I’ve been so busy lately that I hardly caught anything shown in Frameline.
Greg S:
The lack of dialogue and that it was shot with just one camera make the characters and their emotions very raw. They are actually going through a break-up, but neither of whom wants to separate.
Thom:
Oh good Netflix has it on the list? From the Q&A session after the film the director mentioned that the DVD will come out in October. Somebody would have to smuggle the discs into Singapore so the people can watch it!
Dark Orpheus:
That’s exactly what the director said. But this film got very good reviews here.
Greg:
The actor who plays the teacher is, shockingly, a very popular straight actor in Singapore! I wonder how the public will take that? DVD will come out in October.
John:
It’s very unusual of an experience but like I said, the absence of scripts and dialogues add rawness to the characters. The mother does a great job conveying frustration, disappointment, anger and anger as well.